incredibly itchy skin after shower/shaving- pls help!

[Teresainpain]

Hi:

I know itchy skin doesn't sound like a big problem, but my legs and arms itch like they were about to fall off everytime I take a shower.  I don't have dry skin and I use Aveeno body lotion everyday to make sure I get enough moisture.  The itching is like an intense tingling only on my arms and legs (mostly on my legs) and it's so bad that sometimes I just want to run yelling into the street.  The itching usually goes away within an hour after taking a shower, but it happens all of the time.  I hope that someone can give me some advice as to how to fix this problem...itching can drive a person crazy!

Thanks everyone.

[Justinef]

I too suffer from intense itching episodes on my legs and arms after showering. The best temporary solution I have found is using  extra strength gold bond lotion after showering. Instead of rubbing the lotion onto the skin i just lather the lotion on and let my skin absorb the lotion. From my personal experience it is soothing enough to let me make it through the day without any worries. I hope this temp solution helps others

[MommaDuck]

I have the same problem with itching after a bath or shower.  It started a few years ago after showering so I switched to baths after reading that itching can be a shortage of moisture in the skin.  It recommended sitting in clean water with no soap to let your skin drink in the moisture it needed.  That actually helped... for awhile.
Then I actually started itching while I was in the water!  I starting taking a bath only every 2 or 3 days thinking I was bathing too often.  That didn't help but I still can't stand the thought of getting in water so I have stuck to that practice.  I started using really expensive french soaps with oils...that helped to lesson the severity of the itching somewhat...but again, the relief didn't last long and the terrible itching, burning fire sensation returned quickly.
I itch when I get out of bed in the morning...my arms will start burning as soon as my body starts to change temperature (usually waking to a cold house kills me!)  I itch when I get into bed at night on cold sheets.  It takes me about 2 hours for the itching to die down when I go to bed at night.  Lost sleep and an irritated husband....also losing sleep while I literally rip my skin off and squirm.  UGH.
My son developed this condition about a year ago.  He is 10.  I was so worried that I had his pediatrician treat the entire family for scabies thinking we all had something living on us.  It didn't help at all.  He still itches and almost cries when I ask him to take a bath.  It's sheer torture for both of us.
I have no idea what this is....... I live in fear when I hear stories of liver failure, etc...   I had been diagnosed with elevated liver enzymes...has anyone else had the same problem?  They told me that I was probably taking too much tylenol or advil.  Really???  Could it be that?  My son doesn't take those meds and he is still itching that same as me.

I DID FIND ONE PRODUCT ...
(out of hundreds that I've tried) that will stop the itch once it starts.  It doesn't do anything to prevent the next episode but it is my emergency fix when I'm at the point of losing my mind.  
It is a product by BAND-AID   ...it's in a clear tube with a green lid.  It says ANTI-ITCH GEL on the label and under that it says EXTERNAL ANAGESIC.  That stops it dead in seconds.  None of the other external anagesics I tried stopped the itch and pain.  This one does.  It's made by Johnson& Johnson.  I have no idea where I got this from and I'm about out so when I find it again I'm buying a case.  I try to only put it on the worst parts because I worry about overdosing myself (can that happen?)  But it works...that's the good news.

In the meantime I'll keep doing research, fighting with my doctor and reading these posts.  I've got to find an answer to this.  It's eating me alive!   Good luck everyone!

[johnny562]

After many years of itching problems,I finally found a CURE called Phototherapy-the use of UVB narrow band light.
Good Luck Everybody

[BostonClem]

Have any of you tried using antihistamines before showering? The overproduction of histamines can cause itching and urticaria.

When the body is allergic to something, it can trigger the release of histamines. However, the histamines may not be released until the allergen is gone. For example, if someone is allergic to water, the histamines might not be released until afterwards... which would explain itching after a shower.

Taking an antihistamine before showering might prevent this allergic reaction. I certainly don't know what the problem is, but I do know that this is how histamines behave and that everyone's descriptions seem like something that might benefit from a trial of antihistamines

I had cold induced urticaria (an extremely rare allergy to cold temperatures) and I had to take antihistamines before I went out into the cold. However, if I forgot to take the anithistamines, the itching wouldn't start until I got inside from the cold because the heat stimulated the release of the histamines.

Best of luck to all

[lola112]

Hello all:
I have recently developed the same thing.  When I get out of the shower, within minutes, I develop such severe itching all over my body, that I almost go into a complete panic attack.  My twin sister had gotten it years ago, and I thought she was just having an allergic reaction to her soap or laundry detergent (all the while I was considering myself lucky b/c I didn't have it and she did!).  Needless-to-say, over the past couple of weeks or so, I have developed this problem.  No welts, hives, rash, etc...just the severe itch. At one point, the itch was so bad, I thought I was going to have a heart-attack.  My blood pressure must've been sky-high.   I found myself scratching my body with the bristle end of the brush! (it worked pretty well, actually LOL).  Anyway, I immediately started researching what this could be... and have come to the conclusion that I must have (I self-diagnosed b/c I don't have insurance) aqueous pruritis.  After researching case studies about this disorder, I was only interested in what actually worked in stopping the itch.  It was to the point where I was deathly afraid of taking a shower!!  I first tried only tepid water.  I also tried blowdrying my body (not rubbing the skin with a towel b/c that supposedly irratated the skin and helped to trigger the itch).  Then, I also tried to put clothes on immediately following the shower (that helped a little bit, but still, the itch came on).  I switched soaps, laundry detergent...everything!  Following the research, I read that some doctors gave UV treatments to patients.  Well, at my witt's end, I decided to try a tanning bed yesterday.  (I know it's not good for you, but believe me... i wanted this itch GONE).  I did 9 minutes in a stand-up tanning booth.  Well, today when I showered....guess what??  NO ITCH!!!!!!!  I had to share this with all of you b/c it's worth a try everyone.  I'm sure we're all different and it may not work for all of you... but it's worth a try.  It worked for me, and I am so relieved.  

:)  good luck to you all

[itching_for_years]

And I thought I was the only one alive with this weird condition.  I have experienced the itching after taking a shower/bath since I was very young (now 35) but it has gotten worse over the past couple years.  A few minutes after showering, my upper arms and legs itch...and feel as if tiny needles are jabbing all over.  Some times are worse than others.  It seems to peak if I take a shower after doing sweating and if the outside air is humid.  The only thing I have found that provides a bit of relief is if I apply a heavy coat of skin lotion before showering but this is a nusance.  A while back I had to inject an oil based medicine twice weekly for 10 weeks (this was to treat a totally unrelated condition).  The itching COMPLETELY disappeared.  After the 10 week period, the itching resumed.  I've read the aquagenic pruritus disease and this sounds exactly like what I experience although I experience no itching after swimming...only showering/bathing.  It's not the soap...I've showered with no soap and still itched.  I'm hoping someone reading these posts has found a 'cure' because dreading the shower is not a comfortable way to live.

I'm still searching for the solution so if anyone has found what works for you...please let us sufferers know!  Thanks.